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Shadows

I've been enlightened to the fact that I wont be able to draw shadows on the human form well unless I grasp shadows on still life, so I tried it out. I'm going to practice it for hours per day for quite some time until I "master" it, then try to do shadows on the human form again.

good flame dragon..take it step at a time..also as many masters of the old..start copying good drawings..i prefer the old masters..while not very modern..i think is the way to push yourself to atain a high level..as they also started..is good if you start copying engravings..more than shaded drawings..why? because you need to learn line..and being able to go accross a form..stick to a pen..it makes your hand more accurate than the pencil..i recomend you this book.. although it might seem easy and out of date..it is not..and there are basically many many principles of classical drawing..good luck and be patient..you have to grasp the fundamentals first..and yes do practice from imagination..a lot..

there is this great little book for light and shade principles on geometric primitives..you can get it for 3$ in amazon.com..
Light and Shade: A Classic Approach to Three-Dimensional Drawing (Dover Books on Art, Art History) (Paperback)
by Mrs. Mary P. Merrifield (Author)

I will disagree about using a pen. Stick to pencil for now if you're comfortable with it- it will take you far. Dexterity is less important at this point than working slowly & revising until you get it right. Plus, engravings can be confusing and muddle up the basics of chiaroscuro with line and hatching.

Find some clear diagrams of how light falls on the forms you are drawing. You need to learn to look for the light, highlight, halftone, core shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow (this is chiaroscuro). All of these terms might be different in different places, but the concepts are the same. I have seen such diagrams in many places (including this site)- many of which have some misinformation in either the drawing or the explanation. So you need to find them and compare them to what you see in nature and what you find in your own research (which you should start doing along with your drawing).

Just drawing what you see can be deceptive. Learn to interpret what you see with what you know. Learn how artists in the past have dealt with the same problem (chiaroscuro). Learn some of the physics of light. You will also need to ultimately learn perspective fairly well to accurately understand this problem.

I will disagree about using a pen. Stick to pencil for now if you're comfortable with it- it will take you far. Dexterity is less important at this point than working slowly & revising until you get it right. Plus, engravings can be confusing and muddle up the basics of chiaroscuro with line and hatching.

Find some clear diagrams of how light falls on the forms you are drawing. You need to learn to look for the light, highlight, halftone, core shadow, reflected light, and cast shadow (this is chiaroscuro). All of these terms might be different in different places, but the concepts are the same. I have seen such diagrams in many places (including this site)- many of which have some misinformation in either the drawing or the explanation. So you need to find them and compare them to what you see in nature and what you find in your own research (which you should start doing along with your drawing).

Just drawing what you see can be deceptive. Learn to interpret what you see with what you know. Learn how artists in the past have dealt with the same problem (chiaroscuro). Learn some of the physics of light. You will also need to ultimately learn perspective fairly well to accurately understand this problem.

drawing consists of Line, tone and form..if you fail at one..you wont be complete..while there are artists that preferm line more than tone..you need both to be able to see true form.. it is my experience..that shading..is far easier than being able to use line..because that way you feel form more..thats why i recomend you pen..remember the old masters most of them used pen..even a stylus which was a very accurate tool..then they could shade with chalk or charcoal easily..what the pen does it forces you too be more accurate..sorry but ,Pencil is for girlies hehe..

I will refrain from responding in full here because I don't want to derail someone's learning thread. But I think the logic for using pen in Allejo's last post is rather flawed, and will hinder your development as an artist, FlameDragon.

Whatever you do, please keep studying and posting.

(I'll let someone else field the "girlies" comment, though I hope it doesn't derail the thread).